


time of dying

by catstronaut



Category: One Piece
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2019-12-25 12:52:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18261674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catstronaut/pseuds/catstronaut
Summary: Sometimes, the hero is in need of being rescued, and that's perfectly fine.Well, unless they're a little dead, then maybe it's not completely fine, but they can fix him.





	1. hold on

**Author's Note:**

> this is like ,,,,, a writer's block shit-out. hopefully it's decent. gonna try to make the next two chaps longer.

Sixteen days.

Sixteen days since he'd last seen his crew. Since he had a meal that was more than a couple pieces of moldy bread and water that reminded him of dirty dishwater. Since he had been captured by a crazy-ass bounty hunter who decided that he'd take his time and see how long it would take for him to die.

Since he'd last told Zoro "I love you."

Ah, this wasn't really how he was wanting to die; he wanted to go out with a bang after he'd been Pirate King for a while, but he'd have to take what he could get. If this is where he was supposed to die, that was fine by him, as his crew were still out of sight of the small windows that overlooked the sea and taunted him while sea water sloshed around his feet and lower legs and sea stone cuffs held him partially standing with short chains high up on the wall to make it hard for him to sleep.

The salt barely stung his wounds anymore, his body numbing slowly from a mixture of exhaustion, hunger, and thirst.

It was a relief to him that Zoro's last memory of him would be the kiss they shared under the sunrise as they docked at the island he'd been taken from, right before he rocketed ahead of everyone like always. He'll miss his lover, that's for sure, and he'll hate that Sabo will be alone, but he's strong. He has his own nakama that will care for him.

Hopefully Zoro found his straw hat and kept it safe. That would make this okay, knowing that Shanks will have his treasure returned to him. Maybe when his corpse gets delivered to the Marines, they'll be kind enough to use a photo from the past.

Knowing Akainu, they wouldn't.

At least they had fond memories of their time together. He hoped that they would tell Shanks and Makino and Dadan about all the mischief they'd witnessed from him firsthand; give them something to ease the grief. Would they grieve? Makino may, but he wasn't too sure about Shanks or Dadan, and it sent a bolt through his heart that he would never get to know.

Consciousness fading, he thought of his crew – no, his _family's_ happy faces during the last dinner he shared with them. It pulled a smile from his cracked lips.

 

* * *

 

He was rudely pulled back to reality when his head hit the stone floor, mouth and nose being submerged in the sea water that gently rose and fell. Cracking his eyes open, he looked up at the hunter who stood above him, vision blurry. Without warning, a hand in his hair was yanking him to where his face was out of the water, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut.

"I don't know how your god forsaken crew found you, but I'm going to make sure that you won't be getting out of here alive!"

Oh. His family came to get him? That's not good. That's _really_ not good. They wouldn't like to see him like this. Hell, he doesn't _want_ them to see him like this.

He must look disgusting. Covered in burns, lacerations, and shallow stab wounds, not to mention how much weight he must have lost in the two weeks he'd been held.

Eyes blinking open once again, he could see the man's face, eyes wide and lips pulled back into a snarl as he pulled his other arm back. When a sharp pain erupted from between his shoulder blades a few times over, he realized that, oh, he'd gotten stabbed. He was quickly dropped back down, his back hitting the floor, water around him rapidly being stained red, and listened as his assailant rushed out.

A gentle smile crossed his lips as his thoughts travelled to his childhood with Ace and Sabo, the adventures they had; how they took care of themselves but also each other, how they ran wild through the forest, how they'd drive Dadan mad.

He'd be able to see Ace again.

Laughing weakly, a tear slipped from his eye as the world seemed to spin just from the slight movement. Looking to the dark ceiling, he could just make out a freckled figure offering him a hand.

Without hesitating, he grabbed it, and a soft voice like heat from a campfire brushed his ear.

" _It's not your time yet, little brother. You have bigger dreams to reach._ "

For just a moment, fiery wings seemed to envelope him, and he was content to fall into the darkness that had been edging it's way into his head.


	2. rescued

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they get their captain back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had SO MANY ways i wanted to lay this chap out........... took the easy route and wrote it all in a span of like, three hours

After ten and a half days of waiting for severe weather to pass and another five for traveling, the strawhats were ready to tear down heaven and hell to get their captain back, especially with how his vivre card was burning faster with each day. Even Sabo had contacted them to find out what was happening to his brother; when they couldn't provide an answer, he told them that he'd meet with them as soon as he could and promptly hung up.

But now?

 _Now_ they were only a few minutes from the island he was at and they would let nothing get between them.

Zoro stood, eye hardened and his captain's hat secured firmly around his neck, hand on his swords while the wind rushed through his messy hair. Nami settled a hand on his shoulder and nodded to him, determination shining in her eyes before she turned to look back to the approaching land.

They would get him back and make those who took him from his family pay dearly. Not even the devil himself would be able to stop them now that they were on a warpath.

They declared war on the world government for one of their family members, what makes these idiots think they wouldn't go even farther for their captain?

Fog was settled low above the sea, the Sunny cutting through it like a knife as it sailed as quickly as it could. The sunlight was dimmed by the overcast skies above them and only the gentle sounds of waves against the hull sounded through the air.

Minutes passed agonizingly slowly as they finally got to where they were able to dock along the shoreline, Jinbe, Franky, and Brook staying behind to watch over and repair their ship. Chopper also opted to stay behind so as to prepare the infirmary for when they brought Luffy in.

Leading the rest was Zoro with Nami and Usopp on either side of him, neither showing an ounce of fear as they moved forward, Sanji and Robin following closely behind.

Nothing and no one would be able to stop them.

Coming to a old stone building that had been built into the side of one of the island's mountains, Zoro wasted no time slicing the doorway open and moving inside. He didn't hesitate at all as he picked up on Luffy's presence, as well as one other. "There's only one other person in here – Nami, Sanji, you'll come with me, Robin, Usopp, you two will stay here in case they get past us."

When the trio rushed ahead, Zoro's only thoughts were on finding his lover, not on the secondary presence that hid in the room as they passed it. Not on them as they took off towards Usopp and Robin. Not as they ran into his crewmates, not as they began fighting, not on the blood rushing in his ears.

Sprinting down a set of stairs, he cringed as his feet met a layer of sea water on the floor, glad to have left Robin at the entrance. Without needing to be told, Sanji kicked the door open and Zoro rushed inside, heart skipping a beat as he took in the sight before him.

The water being stained red around him, Luffy laid motionless, facing away from the door. There were so many wounds that it almost made Zoro sick as he forced himself to move, bending down and gently picking his captain up into shaking arms. Sanji was already running back the way they'd came and Nami was urging him to get up so that they could get to Chopper.

Snapping back to reality like a flash of lightning, he got to his feet and took off through the narrow hallways, Nami hot on his heels. They made it out of the building in what had to be record time, and Robin was waiting before the ship to help with getting Luffy up to where Usopp stood.

The transfer of the boy between the three went smoothly, and Usopp wasted no time running into the infirmary as the last three climbed aboard.

Sanji paced along the deck, pale faced and smoking a cigarette much too quickly to have been any good to him.

Zoro sat against the railing, eyes glazed as they kept looking over the blood that stained his clothes and his skin.

Robin entered the infirmary to help Chopper, Usopp coming out and immediately breaking down into sobs, going to Sanji and clinging to him like a lifeline.

 

* * *

 

A little ship sailed up beside the Sunny by the time the fifth hour of no one entering or leaving the little room had came and gone.

The smell of smoke drifted up and everyone on the deck knew who it was even before blonde hair appeared over the railing.

"Where is he!" Sabo yelled, eyes frantic as he held a small piece of burning paper in his hand, looking all over the deck. "What _happened_!"

Franky was the one to approach him and explain the situation, voice soft and gentle. When Sabo began repeating ' _no_ ' to himself, Franky knew what he was thinking, and pulled him into a hug that surprisingly careful and warm considering the man was mostly machine.

Eventually getting the blonde settled in beside Zoro, the waiting game continued.

"...You're the one who Luffy's in love with, aren't you?" Sabo's voice was quiet but effectively dragged Zoro's attention to him. A stiff nod and an anxious silence followed.

Sighing, blue eyes moved to the sky. "You're his whole world, you know?" That got a brown eye to look towards him. "Every call, he talks about you longer than anyone else. He's always gushing about your latest stunt, about how you're such a good person, what you two had last gotten up to, so on and so forth."

Sabo paused a few moments before he met Zoro's gaze. "This doesn't leave the two of us, but he said that he would choose you over being the pirate king."

Breath hitching, Zoro's eyes misted over before tears began to fall, and Sabo wordlessly pulled him into his side.

 

* * *

 

Ten hours is how long it took for Robin to come out, looking absolutely exhausted, and tell them that they'd gotten Luffy stabilized.

Less than a minute was all it took for everyone on deck to break into tears and cheers.


	3. happy ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow thanks for y'all who've waited literal months for me to update. ur so valid. sorry this is kindly short, I just felt like it was the right place to stop.

The first thing that Luffy picked up on when he began regaining consciousness was a warmth on his arm; it was so similar to how Ace felt that he knew it had to be Sabo, especially since he could smell the cologne his brother wore for Koala. Then came the dull aches that ran through his body, seeming to emanate from his shoulder blades. He felt as though he'd been through a war. Well, actually, he felt a little better than the one war he'd been in, but that's irrelevant.

Cracking his eyes open slightly, he cringed at the light that flickered from a candle on Chopper's desk, and paused momentarily before opening them enough to look around.

Sabo was asleep beside the infirmary cot, head laid on Luffy's lap, hand holding his younger brother's like a lifeline, his expression drawn into a scowl as he slept. Chopper sat at his desk, scribbling in one of his books, completely immersed in his work. Zoro sat with his back against the cot, head resting just beside Luffy's own, straw hat held gently in his hands as he slept.

Testing the movement in his hand, he squeezed Sabo's with as much strength as he could muster, then began tracing little designs on the back of it to get his attention. Bleary eyed, the blond sat up and looked at Luffy with an unhappy look on his face. Well, at least until he realized that it was Luffy doing it, then his eyes widened and he let out a choked sound, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"You dumbass! You _dumbass_! You stupid, _stupid_ little brother!" He cried, lurching forward to hold Luffy close, drawing Chopper's attention and waking Zoro up, both jumping to their feet. "I thought I was going to lose you, too! I thought I'd never get to tell you bye!"

Wrapping his arms around Sabo, Luffy laughed into his neck, the sound crackly but genuine. "Silly Sabo, I'm fine," he said, his voice rough from disuse, "I'm fine, I'm here, I'm alive, okay?"

Sabo nodded yet continued to cry, relieved sobbing leaving his mouth as he held his last family member close. Luffy turned to look at his lover, signature grin on his lips, and reached a hand towards him.

Ever so carefully, Zoro took his hand in his own two much larger ones, and brought it to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss on his knuckles. Unshed tears glistened in his good eye and dark circles from sleepless nights hung under both.

"It's good to have you back, captain," Zoro breathed, a tear slipping down his cheek, "it's so good to have you back, my heart."

A watery laugh left Luffy's mouth as he began to shed tears of his own. "It's good to be back, my love," his lip quivered as he tried to hold his emotions back, "it's good to see your face again."

Chopper, with tears streaming from his eyes, babbled something and shot from the room before anyone could ask what he was doing, but his shouts on deck could be heard by the trio within.

Sabo lifted off of him, finally, and sat down in the old chair someone had given him. Wiping his eyes, he smiled tiredly to the two in front of him. "It doesn't seem like you two will be getting much alone time for a while, huh?"

Just moments after, the door burst open and the rest of the crew came in, Usopp sobbing and latching on to his captain, while Nami, Sanji, and Chopper began scolding him through their own tears. Jinbe and Brook watched with misty eyes, but at least they were able to keep from completely crying. Robin and Franky leaned on one another as Robin wiped her eyes with her husband sobbing wildly in relief beside her.

It was going to be okay. They were going to be okay.


End file.
